.Quilting away the inner pack rat.

In my basement as we speak I have what must be a metric ton in baby clothes from the last 2.5 years. Since we're having another girl in just a few weeks this is actually a good thing, I can reuse a good amount of them {though because one girl was a winter baby and one a summer baby there are some casualties that just cant be worked around - like size 6 month sun dresses and size 12 month snow buntings}.
But after Alice grows out of those clothes what to do? A bit of background: I am the anti-pack rat. I loath and detest keeping things in storage with no intention of doing anything with them. I hate nik-nacks of any kind and antiques make my skin crawl. I like my space clean, streamlined, and new/unused. So with that said it goes without saying that I'll be getting rid of these clothes once they no longer serve a purpose for our family {the idea of saving them for grandchildren gives me anal bleeding}. The obvious choice is donating them to families in need, a huge amount will go to that purpose. But I have a portion of them that I have strong sentimental value in and the idea of donating them makes me sad. Conundrum.
Thanks to Etsy.com {aka crack} I have stumbled onto the shop Lucends where owner Lucinda Snyder creates beautiful quilts with baby clothes that you send her. Baby clothes quilts are nothing new, I've seen a ton on Pinterest and the like but they're usually tacky looking or have that "country chic" look that just isn't me. Lucinda's quilts are beautiful heirlooms and I must have one. 
Stop by her store and look around for prices and sizes if you're interested. I'm thinking that next year when the time comes I'm going to do get the larger 60x60 quilt with a combo of both girls clothing instead of two separate 30x30 quilts.
We did something vaguely similar when we got married, instead of a guestbook that would never ever be looked at and just sit in a basement we had guests sign quilt patches then had them turned into a lovely quilt that now covers our bed {and is used on picnics, movie nights, tummy time, and a million other family things}. Quilts, it would seem are the answer to my storage woes - who knew?